


Puzzle Pieces and Photographs

by godcomplexfics (godtiercomplex)



Series: dysfunctional family funtimes [12]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 08:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9712703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godtiercomplex/pseuds/godcomplexfics
Summary: An unease settles across the house in Tsukiyama’s absence.In which, Shuu leaves the country for a month, Chie introduces herself to Haise, and all Tooru wants is for his sister not to get harassed on YouTube.(Reposted due to Ao3 mishaps)





	1. unease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru wants a lot of things in his life, but the most important to him is stability.

Saiko pushed her camera into Tooru’s hands, and told him to record everything. He was thirteen, and on his cycle, and all he wanted to do was curl up and die, but he followed his sister as she took on the role of Miss Kano, her chosen alias. Saiko was typically quieter than she presented herself in front of his lenses. She was caught up in a fantasy world usually, lost in video games and pretending to be a hero.

He realized as she settled on her bed and grinned, surrounded by the stuffed animals she had started to collect, that this was her world. The camera was making what was in Saiko’s head come to life. And, she was shining.

“All right! And once again, I’m Miss Kano, and tomorrow I’m going to be posting up my first video~” She waved and blew kisses at the camera, and all Tooru could think was, _This cannot end well._

xxx

The thought that something would go wrong was a typical one for him. He had lost his parents young, and been abandoned soon after. He was an unwanted child, and it was only after he had met Sasaki, Saiko, Arima, Akira, and his brothers, that he had started to understand what it meant to be wanted. In helping to take care of his family, he felt needed, he felt like he was making himself irreplaceable. Yet, even without extra effort on his part, he was the only one that Sasaki was adopting. He could, if he wanted, be Sasaki Tooru.

But, the memory of his parents had faded away, and all he had left of them was his father’s name. He wouldn’t give it up. It was a part of him, just as much as his makeshift family was. He wouldn’t give them up or fail to protect them. He would be man enough to do so.

xxx

The only area in which he had failed, and which Shirazu still struggled against, was the placement of Tsukiyama in their family. Sasaki refused to consider Tsukiyama part of their family, but Tooru had done enough laundry to know that Tsukiyama’s invasion into their lives was almost complete. He knew that he woke up more mornings to Tsukiyama casually drinking coffee in their kitchen than not. He was also glad that his bedroom was on the upper floor and towards the back of the house and that Arima’s room was right above Sasaki’s bedroom.

Akira had been the one to give them all the sex talk, and it had been terrifying and horrifying, but he felt like if Sasaki or Arima had given it, it would have been worse. Akira had then took him aside and they had discussed binding options, and birth control and hormone therapy. It had been a lot for him at eleven, and he hadn’t been sure what to do. He still wasn’t sure.

xxx

Somehow, he wasn’t sure how or why, Saiko had saved up enough of her money to buy a bunch of game recording software, and an actual second desktop for herself. She was dedicated to success.

“Why?” Shirazu asked her.

“I want to be the best,” Saiko said, and left it at that even when Shirazu laughed at her, and Urie gave a sigh of long suffering. The house was quiet, and for once there weren’t any plots of how to best bug Tsukiyama. With the man gone, their schemes were pointless.

Tsukiyama hadn’t been at the house in almost two weeks, and Tooru couldn’t help but feel like something was off. It was enough that when Arima showed up after a case he commented on it. By then, Tsukiyama had been gone for two full weeks, and according to the calendar filled with all of the family’s activities, he wasn’t due back for another week and a half. Tsukiyama had been the one to pen it in on the calendar, his handwriting supercilious as expected.

“Where’s Tsukiyama?” Arima asked the room at large. Tooru ignored Urie picking up his workbook, so that his brother could compare their summer homework for the moment. Then he answered the question, waiting a moment to see if Sasaki would. Sasaki was cooking dinner and muttering to himself the directions, and Tooru supposed he hadn’t heard his father.

“He’s on a photo tour,” Tooru said, “In China and then in Paris. He’ll be back soon.”

“Ah,” Arima said, and he looked towards the kitchen where normally Tsukiyama would be bantering with Sasaki, “Well, then I suppose that’s alright. It’s going to be quiet around here.”

“You think so, Dad? Even with these four?” Sasaki waved at Tooru and his siblings, and smiled as he cooked a late birthday dinner for Akira.

 

xxx

 

Tooru wasn’t sure if it alright that Tsukiyama was gone. Shirazu and Urie were fighting more than usual without another outlet for their tricks. Arima looked just a bit lonely, so Tooru would end up sitting next to him and reliving some of their and Sasaki’s childhood  with the man. Akira was relieved when she came by, no longer having to babysit since they were all well equipped to watch themselves. And Saiko was caught up in her gaming, so Tooru doubted she even realized that Tsukiyama was gone.

Tooru sighed to himself, and looked at the list that Sasaki had texted him of things to pick up from the store. He would need to get Shirazu to help him carry some of the things and if Urie came over today he would need to make sure to get double everything. Shirazu and Urie ate a lot. Tooru didn’t feel much up to eating, body still weakened, so he sighed again. One of his classmates noticed.

“What’s wrong, Mutsuki-san?” the girl, Nanako, asked. She went to his regular school, so they had a sort of friendship. Sometimes, Nanako acted like she was interested in getting to know him better, but Tooru didn’t have the type of life that was so easily shared. Sasaki encouraged them to reach out to other people, but Tooru knew what people were truly like, and he wasn’t sure if even Nanako was someone he trusted with his secrets.

“Um, nothing is wrong per say, but my dad asked me to make dinner tonight suddenly. So, I have to text my brothers to meet me at the store.”

“Oh,” Nanako said, “Alright, well then I guess today’s no good.”

“No good for what?”

Nanako shook her head, “I’ll tell you another day. You better hurry and meet up with your brothers.”

Tooru pondered that, and hoped that Nanako hadn’t been looking to ask him out on a date. He liked her, but he didn’t _like_ her. He was stressing over that as he met up with Shirazu and Urie at the store. If it had been during the regular school year, he would have had to fetch Saiko from her usual spots. Thankfully, Saiko didn’t go to school during the summer. It was already hard enough to get her to go to regular school during the normal year. So, it was just him and his brothers as he gave them each a list of ingredients to find and went to get the meat himself. He wondered why his dad had picked this recipe for today. It was enough, should be enough, to feed all of them, but even still he picked up extra meat.

When they arrived home, Sasaki was still there. He looked weird, a bit off, as he hadn’t that morning.

“Hi boys,” Sasaki said, and then checked over their purchases with a smile, “Alright, Tooru’s in charge, try not to destroy the house. Arima says he’ll be back tomorrow, and Akira might stop in to check on you all.”

“Where are you going, Sassan?” Shirazu asked, and Tooru started unpacking their selections. He was already planning on how to get all the meat cooked, when Sasaki laughed.

“Hide and I have some business to do, so I’ll be out late,” Sasaki said.

Soon enough, Sasaki had left, and Tooru had to prepare dinner with little help from his siblings. He had set the table and Shirazu and Urie had started eating when he realized Saiko was missing. So, Tooru went into her room and found her facedown on Laffy and--

“Are you crying?”

“Noooooo,” she said, “Go away, Tooru.”

“What’s wrong?” He kept at it until she rolled underneath her bed. When he bent down to look at her, she just thrust her phone at him. He looked at the screen. His hands tightened into fists as he read the comments left on the videos she had posted.

“Have you told Sasaki yet?”

“Not yet, I told Laurie-chan and she told me to lock the comment page for a bit.”

“Maybe you should stop doing this for--”

“No!” Saiko came from underneath her bed halfway, “I won’t let them win!”

He looked at his sister, at her determination, and sighed, “Dinner’s ready.”

xxx

He wasn’t asleep, but most of the rest of their house was. It was closer to dawn than dusk, and so he was surprised when the outside light was turned on, and then back off. He looked down at the backyard, and could make out the figures of two men. The clouds moved from in front of the sun, and shone on white and brown hair, and he realized it was Sasaki and Hide.

They weren’t saying anything that Tooru could hear, but they were close together on the step. As Tooru watched, they leaned into each other, and he saw something that he had only seen Tsukiyama attempt to do to Sasaki. He stopped watching and went back to books, shaken just a bit as if he had seen something he wasn’t meant to see.

Tsukiyama was not a welcome part of their family, but he had been part of it almost as long as Tooru himself. Hide was a welcome outsider, and he had only been around for three years. Tooru hadn’t even realized that there was a choice that Sasaki had made between the two. He hadn’t even realized that something so simple would change what he thought about his family.

If Sasaki had kissed Hide, like Tooru doubted that he had seen, didn’t know if he wanted to have seen or not, where did that leave Tsukiyama? What did that make of quite a few of their family portraits?

Uneasy, and uncertain, Tooru read until he couldn’t anymore.


	2. unrest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuu just wants to be able to focus, but he finds himself restless without Haise by his side.

Before he would leave for anything approaching more than a few days, Shuu made a habit of updating Haise’s family calendar with his departure and arrival dates. Haise would sigh and complain about it, but wouldn’t erase his additions. Shuu took the small victories where he could as they were so few in number. It was hard to get anywhere, or do anything when it came to Haise.

He was bound by his obsessive love for him and couldn’t imagine a world in which he was not with Haise. He had tried once, and found himself unmoved at the end of it. Ever since, he hadn’t even considered other people. They weren’t even an option when Haise was the air in his lungs, and the reason, it seemed sometimes, that he was able to do long tours.

All he wanted was some reassurance from Haise, and to tell him what the subject of the shoots would be. Shuu didn’t want Haise to open up a magazine in a few months, and see Shuu all over different people and misunderstand. But Haise was being Haise, and engaged in a fierce neglect play. It hurt, but he pressed on and sent him a goodnight message when he got no reply.

He was woken up out of his sleep by Chie.

“Teoh says that you’re not being as glistening as usual,” she said.

“That is a lie, I have been having the best time with them all.”

“He sent me a few photos and I can’t help but agree. Where is your shine, Shuu?”

“I have it, it never left.”

“No,” she said, and her voice sounded off, “You don’t. I’ll fix this, Shuu.”

“Well,” and he was tired and confused, and he should have been scared, but there was only so much that Chie could do. “Alright, please do.”

 

xxx

 

He called Haise and the other man didn’t pick up and he despaired more. He could see what Chie meant now. His light was gone, his joy for doing what he loved was gone. He was letting Haise’s ignoring him _get_ to him, and he wasn’t sure why now of all times. With the introduction of so many people in Haise’s life who wanted to take him away from Shuu or wanted them to break up, he was uneasy.

He still wanted to make a world with only Haise and him until he had all the reassurance he needed that they would be together for the rest of their lives. He loved him so much, and was given nothing in return. Weaker man would have give up, but Shuu saw himself as a martyr of love for being with Haise.

He had made mistakes, but nothing that meant anything in the long run.

And then Chie called him, and told him that she had met Haise.

“What did you say to him? What did you do to him? Chie, I will kill you.”

“I know,” she said, and she did not sound afraid or like she believed him, “And nothing. I just showed Haise a few photographs of you, and asked him to call you because of how ruined you are.”

“Oh,” he didn’t know if he should believe her or not, and knew that he didn’t.

 

xxx

 

When he called this time, Haise picked up.

“Hello, Tsukiyama. Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Hello, my darling. I heard that you had the misfortune to run into my dearest friend Chie.”

“Oh,” Haise said, and then didn’t say anything else for a long moment. “Yeah, I ran into her. Or rather, I think she hunted me down. She showed me some photos of you and told me some things.”

“What things?” Shuu did not like the tone in Haise’s voice. His lover sounded off, and all he wanted to do was see his face and see what had him so weird sounding.

“Well, like that you’ve slept with other people.”

Shuu’s heart literally stopped and he couldn’t say anything but a shaken, “What?”

“Ah, yeah, she told me that. Which it’s . . . fine, I guess if you have. I just wasn’t aware that was a thing we were doing. I mean, could do.”

“That is--no, that’s not a thing we can do. Haise, I never meant to cheat please don’t try and get revenge or anything or--”

“Tsukiyama.” And Shuu shut up and listened, as he held a hand to his heart, and could feel it breaking. “We’re not dating so it wouldn’t be cheating, I think? I don’t know what to do about this, to be honest. But this opens up something I didn’t know was an option.”

“It’s not, it’s not, it’s not.”

“Yeah, well,” Haise trailed off, “I have to go.”

He hung up before Shuu could do anything. Before he could say anything. He was going to kill Chie. He wanted to die, he had messed up the best thing in his life. He had been so wrong.

He called Chie and she didn’t answer. He called Haise and he didn’t answer.

He almost called Arima, but resisted.

He was an adult, and Haise was an adult and they could work this out as long as Haise did not cheat on him in revenge. He would break if Haise did.


	3. uncertainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of writing his newest novel, Haise receives some news that shakes his world up a bit.

Arima asked where Tsukiyama was, and Haise didn’t answer him. He knew where Tsukiyama was, and the kids did too since Tsukiyama had sat there one day and boldly added in his departing and returning days into their family calendar. Tsukiyama had no real right to do that, but he had written it in purple ink. Haise wasn’t petty enough to white it out.

Tooru answered, and Haise returned to making Akira’s birthday dinner. Her birthday had passed, but she was tied up in a case and there wasn’t much he could do about the lateness. There was a cake waiting to get iced, so he called Tooru over to help. Together, they finished up dinner before Akira walked in the door and said, “No parties.”

“It’s just dinner, Mom.”

She agreed to eat it, and then, “Arima, did you find the information I asked for?”

“It’s on your desk, Mado.”

“Thanks.”

“What’s the case about, Akira?” Tooru asked as he got her a beer and she stared at the cake and the age written on it with horror. Haise stopped frying the meat and changed the age to flowers instead.

“Kidnappers targeting representatives and other politicians children.” Akira said, and then chugged her beer. Everyone not-so-subtly looked at Urie.

“Leave me the fuck alone,” Urie said.

“Urie, language,” Tooru said before Haise could.

Saiko giggled as she played on her DS.

“Urie, you should spend the night,” Haise suggested, and Urie frowned at him and frowned at Tooru’s opened book, and agreed.

 

xxx

 

Akira talked more about the case when the kids were in bed and she was drinking with Arima. She had the documents all spread out, and Arima’s findings added to it as well. There’s no pictures, and Akira complained about that.

“You wanted it quick and fast, I didn’t have time to do a stakeout,” Arima said, “I have a group name for you, and the leaders name. Itori, she runs a bar called Helter Skelter. It has an impressive privacy code. Quite a few politicians go there, so it’s no wonder that their children are targeted. You can only get into Helter Skelter with an invitation. I’m working on getting one.”

“Is that safe?” Haise asked, and it’s enough to take his mind off his own life and worry about Arima. Arima smiled at him and ruffled his hair before settling back next to Akira.

“It’s safe.”

“This is a lot of information,” Akira admited, “I’ll keep looking into it.”

“What are you trying to do, Akira?”

“Charge this woman with kidnapping and extortion.”

“Oh,” And then thinking about Urie, “Was the kid returned safely?”

“For once the police moved quickly, so yes. Who knows what would have happened otherwise?” Akira frowned, “Nevermind. I don’t want to know what they were planning to do to him.”

“Be careful,” Arima said, “These people aren’t so easy to pin down.”

“Yes, please be careful, Mom.”

Akira scoffed, “Yeah, I will be. But these people are going to understand that there’s laws for a reason or my name isn't Mado Akira.”

 

xxx

 

He was worrying over the kidnapping case when he was approached outside of the grocery store by someone with a pink camera.

“Haise, Sasaki Haise, I need to borrow you for a moment,” the person said. Haise couldn’t tell what gender they were.

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Shuu’s best friend, Chie,” Chie said. And then said, “Come have lunch with me.”

Tsukiyama was someone he had not thought about recently. Out of sight was out of mind, thus Haise wasn’t taking Tsukiyama’s calls like he typically didn’t. But now it was also because when he wasn’t just stressing over his mom’s newest case, he was writing. It was a book that suited him as he was at this time. A person with a stalker, and yet it was the ending that he was struggling with. The beginning had been easy, and the middle was easier, but he couldn’t decide how it should end.

“My treat,” Chie was saying, and she didn’t look like she would give up that easily--and if she was Tsukiyama’s friend she really wouldn’t. Haise gave in, because sometimes that was just easier.

They went to a small restaurant where Chie ordered ice cream and he just got something to drink.

“It’s nice to meet you, Chie-san, Tsukiyama’s mentioned you a few times,” Haise said. And he had. She had called a few times when they had been occupied, and had called other times when they had not been.

“He’s always talking about you, but said I couldn’t meet you,” Chie started in on her ice cream sundae, and Haise considered her. Tsukiyama not wanting him to hang out with Haise’s own friends he could understand, but for Tsukiyama to not want Chie and Haise to meet made little sense when the other man was so eager to show off his world typically. This was only making Haise a bit curious about her, if she was a female like he was guessing. Curious, but also wary because she was Tsukiyama’s best friend.

“He doesn’t want me to meet anyone,” Haise settled on saying.

“I know. Selfish of him when he can meet anyone he wants.”

Haise recognized a leading statement when he saw one. He paused, and considered her. He couldn’t get a read on her, wasn’t able to tell what she was thinking. It made him uneasy, and he knew that she hadn’t called him out for no real reason.

“What do you mean?” he asked, knowing he was walking into a trap.

She grinned. And his uneasiness worsened. He was thinking about getting up and leaving when she dropped a series of photographs in front of him. They were of Tsukiyama and another woman.

“He slept with her,” Chie said while he flipped through the photographs, “He hasn’t slept with anyone else but you and her.”

“Why do you have these photographs?” Haise asked, finally setting them aside.

“Insurance,” Chie said, and took them back, “For an emergency situation.”

“Ah,” Haise said, “I see.” He really didn’t. He was trying to wrap his head around Tsukiyama sleeping with someone else, and couldn’t do it. It was a situation that he hadn’t ever thought might happen. “Why are you telling me all this?” The timestamp in the photos read two years ago. “Why now?”

“Because I want to see what happens next,” Chie said, and asked for the check, “Thanks for having lunch with me, Haise.”

“It’s Sasaki, Chie-san,” he stood up, and dropped a few coins in the table to cover his coffee.

“Hori, Hori Chie,” she said, and then waved goodbye to him.

 

xxx

 

The news threw him off writing, and soon he had people asking him what was wrong. He didn't even know how to give voice to the situation and couldn't help but feel it was between him and Tsukiyama. But there was nothing between them, should be nothing, but yet, he couldn’t stop his unease. There was nothing in him that was thrilled or pleased or even amused with the news.

If they were in an open relationship, then all this time he could have been, no rather, even if he had wanted to, Tsukiyama’s jealousy would have been too annoying to deal with. The chances of him sleeping with anyone else but Tsukiyama had always been zero. And yet, Tsukiyama had slept with someone else.

 

xxx

 

Tsukiyama called and Haise answered. He hated how his voice sounded, like this had impacted him in some way. Tsukiyama meant nothing to him really. He was just a constant in his life that he had ceased trying to get rid of.

This opened up options, it seemed in Haise’s worldview.

He and Hide went out that night to discuss _The Power of Love_ as he had tentatively decided to call the novel. It was breaking from his usual naming habits, as it wasn’t psychological horror. He had published a short story in an anthology along with novelists like Sen Takatsuki last year, and now they wanted another story from him. He decided to pitch them a novel idea, and Hide had mostly approved, but also laughed slightly.

“You surprise me more and more each year, Sasaki-sensei,” Hide said. He was teasing him with the sensei part, Haise knew, but he still blushed a bit, unused to hearing it even after a few promotional tours.

“So you like it?”

“Yeah, I do. How will it end?” Hide said, “Your notes are unclear on that part.”

“I don’t know yet. I mean, he can either kill the stalker, get with the stalker, or they both die and the stalker wins.” Haise sighed, “I don’t know, what do you think?”

“Hm,” Hide said, “Let me think about it. Is this manuscript okay for me to take home?”

“Be my guest.” Haise watched as Hide put his manuscript carefully into his bag. They then turned their attention to their meal. When Hide suggested they go drinking, Haise agreed.

 

xxx

 

Somehow they made their way safely back to Haise's house. They settled on the back porch, a six pack of Arima’s beer between them to settle out the night.

"What's wrong?" Hide asked, and he didn't sound nearly as out of it as he should. Haise wondered if Akira's lack of ability to hold her liquor could have passed on to him. He studied his beer and wondered if the kids were asleep. "Haise?"

"Hide," he started and stopped. But it was Hide and he knew everything, had figured out Haise long ago, "Hide, I guess Tsukiyama cheated on me. What I don’t understand is that if he was going to bother to do that, he should have just . . . left me alone afterwards. He should have just decided to start stalking her instead."

"When did he cheat?"

"I don't remember, like a year or two ago." Haise continued talking before Hide could ask, "His best friend told me. She wants us to break up or something maybe. But we're not together. How do I break up with someone I'm not dating?"

"Same way he cheated on someone he wasn't dating? But I couldn't have guessed that he'd do something like that. He's crazy about you."

"Exactly! Who does he think he is really," Haise started on his second can, but his seventh alcoholic drink of the night, "He told me that it wasn't an option that I shouldn't do anything.That I shouldn't try and get revenge but who is Tsukiyama Shuu?"

"Hm," Hide said, still on his first can, "Will you break up with him then?"

"We're not dating."

"Will you stop seeing him? Since he cheated on you?"

Haise looked at Hide, who turned to look at him.

"What happens if I do?" he thought out loud and then stopped thinking as Hide got closer and he moved closer to Hide.

Their lips almost met, but they both pulled back at the last second. Haise couldn't tell if he was disappointed or relieved. Hide was his friend, his best friend, forever and foremost. Hide had his place in his life and just like everyone else, he had to stay there. Hide smiled at him, and Haise wondered what he saw in his eyes.

"I don't think he'll give up on you so easily," Hide said. "I missed the last train, is it alright if I borrow your couch?"

 

xxx

 

Akira’s case was a success and the owner of Helter Skelter, Itori, went to jail.

“Hopefully for a long time,” she said.

Haise found out that Saiko was facing harassment and suggested that she post a video introducing her family full of brothers and men. It seemed to do the trick since she announced that most of the comments had gone away. And Haise knew she would be okay with Laurie looking out for her.

All was well in his house. But he was not well.

And then, Tsukiyama came back.

 

xxx

 

Tsukiyama invited him out for a drive, and he went. This was not a conversation his children needed to hear.

“What are we?” Tsukiyama started off, going for the heart of the matter. And Haise thought about that as the city passed by, and Tsukiyama drove in circles. The answer should be obvious, but it was difficult at the same time. Tsukiyama simply was there, and Haise had taken it for a simple fact that he would probably always be there. His world had been shaken just a bit, shifted just out of place, and he wasn’t completely alright with that. Like he had told Hide, who did Tsukiyama think he was?

“Nothing,” he settled on saying, “We’re nothing.”

“Are you breaking up with me then, Haise?” Tsukiyama sounded calm, but his hands on the steering wheel were tight.

“There’s nothing to break up. We would have had to have been in a relationship in order to break up.” It was the same thing he always said, but now there was just a slight bitter touch to his tone that he couldn’t control.

Tsukiyama pulled over, grabbed at him, and kissed him. Haise did not respond, not appreciating being forced into a kiss and soon Tsukiyama broke it.

“Don’t kiss me because I’m not saying what you want to hear.”

Tsukiyama wasn’t listening, not if his hands tightening on Haise’s shirt were an indication. “I love you, so much, Haise that I would kill us both rather than let you cheat on me.”

It was a line straight out of _The Power of Love_ and Haise watched in fascination as Tsukiyama kissed his neck. He could see them both reflected in the windows, and was glad that Tsukiyama’s windows were so heavily tinted black so that no one outside could see them.

“Did you cheat on me?” Tsukiyama asked, voice sounding broken now, all facades of calm fading away, “With Touka? With Hinami? With Nagachi--”

“I don’t have to answer that,” Haise interrupted, “And even if I did, you’ll do nothing about it.”

“I’ll kill--”

“You won’t do anything,” Haise said, and rested a hand on Tsukiyama’s back as the other man cried, “So stop making idle threats.” When Tsukiyama lifted up his face in a grimace, Haise kissed him. Haise didn’t stop thinking, but wondered if this was the ending, if this was how all things between them would end as they shoved aside most of their clothes and pushed the seat back. He watched Tsukiyama’s face as he came, and felt something like annoyance that someone else had seen this. He didn’t hate Tsukiyama, he didn’t love him either. He couldn’t plead complete indifference either, but it was more like a weary acceptance.

 _I’ve been caught_ , he thought half hysterically. And then that’s when he knew how he wanted to end his novel.

 

xxx

 

Tsukiyama wouldn’t let Haise out of his sight for three days, so he ended up tagging along with Haise when he met with Hide to discuss the novel.

“That’s huh, I don’t know how everyone else will take it, but they might just love it since it’s you, Haise,” Hide said, “Such an ending is sure to win them over. It’ll have your fans upset, that’s for sure.”

Haise laughed, “Well, I don’t want them to be too upset. It’s all pretty clear to me, and to you as well, right Hide?”

“I understand what you’re going for, but that’s because I know you,” Hide said. They were both ignoring Tsukiyama who was more than happy to check messages on his phone and carry on conversations that way.

“Well, that’s true.”

“Alright, I’ll be going then. It was nice seeing you again, Tsukiyama-san,” Hide said, gathering up his belongings.

Tsukiyama looked up and smiled at him, “It was nice to see you as well, Nagachika-san.”

“Bye, Hide.”

“Bye, Haise.” They smiled at each other, and then Hide left.

Haise wondered what was going on in his mind, and made up his mind to call Hide that night as Tsukiyama kissed his cheek and went to pay for their drinks.

Haise didn’t feel caught anymore. He had decided on his own that it didn’t matter who Tsukiyama had slept with. Either way it went he wasn’t going to be able to get rid of the other man so easily.

He sighed, and finished off his coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read [ Strong Drink Lead to Wistful Thoughts ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4173663) I highly recommend it for those of you who are shipping Haise/Hide due to this series. Canonly takes place before this whole mess. 
> 
> I truly do like Chie. I imagine that when/if she meets the kids they'll call her Auntie. She won't like that.


End file.
